Ted DiBiase on His Legacy, Origins of Million Dollar Man, and Bobby Heenan

Recent episode of Ring Rust Radio podcast show had “The Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase as the guest discussing his wrestling legacy, the origins of the “Million Dollar Man” gimmick, and the late Bobby Heenan.

On the topic of his legacy in wrestling, Dibiase stated the most important thing he wants fans to remember him for is not the idea you can only be successful if your well-off but instead as someone who considered his family to be the most important aspect of his life and career.

“What I really want people to really realize walking away from this is that what everybody seems to think in the world if I have this great job and I make a lot of money and a nice house and a big car and all the stuff that it’ll make you happy. Guys, I had that and not only did I have it, but Vince McMahon was promoting me. He was sending me everywhere first-class, Learjets, limousine, the whole star treatment, and I came to a place and realized that with all of that, if I didn’t have the love and respect of my wife and my children, I didn’t have anything.”

On the topic of the origins of the “Million Dollar Man” gimmick, DiBiase stated it was entirely based on Vince McMahon’s vision of himself as an actual character in wrestling. He got picked because both Vince and Pat Patterson felt he was the best person to make the character work due to him having the skills they wanted the most.

“The Million Dollar Man the character is actually a Vince McMahon original. It was presented to me and Vince kind of started laying it out. In a moment when he was called away and I was just sitting there with Pat Patterson who at the time was his right-hand man, Pat looked at me and said, ‘Ted, if Vince can be a character in his own show, this is it, this is who he would be.’ It had never been done before. Vince said, ‘I chose you because you’re articulate; you carry yourself well; you interview very well; you are a great wrestler; you’re perfect for this.'”

On the topic of the late Bobby Heenan, DiBiase considered Heenan to be the greatest wrestler manager of all-time and someone who was a very great and fun person outside the ring.

“Bobby Heenan to me, he was the best. Of all the guys that have been managers that can pick up a microphone and talk, he was a natural and so good. His character like mine was so hated, it was like a little weasel. Everybody wanted to kill him and that was the whole point. Bobby Heenan was as quick-witted off the cameras as he was on the camera and just as funny. A great guy and I just thought the world of him as a person.”